Not that any of us really expected any of them (barring possibly Stojanovic) to play tonight, but he, Friend and Shotton all played in a 1-1 friendly draw with Celtic this afternoon, so that would rule them out of being involved at all.
I thought there may be an outside chance Shotton could make the bench as a way to change things around if we needed to, but not massively surprised.

I'd put Morrison in from the start. He's been brought in to do a job that Wing has proved himself incapable of doing consistently, and Tavernier has been off the boil in doing recently, and that's to create a link between the midfield and the forwards.
I'm not saying Morrison will instantly do that either, but that's why he's been loaned in, and let's face it, no-one else in that position (Roberts excluded) has really done enough to justify any sort of outrage if they lose the shirt.

Not happy with the terms offered?
Others might have a better knowledge of this than me, but isn't there a clause where players can't be offered a contract on a lower wage terms than the one they're currently on? And so Ayala would need for his current deal to expire before signing a new one, effectively as a free agent?
I'm not saying that's what's happening here, but that may be a factor. It also may be that he wants 3/4 years and we'll only give him 1 or 2.

I think short term is the priority as it stands, though. The summer window was nothing short of disastrous, and but for a great run of results over Christmas, we'd be seriously looking over our shoulder at the bottom three. As far as I was concerned, this window was about bolstering numbers and hanging onto any decent players we do have. Aside from Randolph, we've done both, when you consider that Bola/Browne and the young players weren't really getting a game anyway.
It's far from perfect, but I'd say we have a better squad of players to pick from tomorrow than we did on New Years Day, and have managed that without spending large sums on transfer fees, which to circle back to your initial point, does potentially help us long term.

I'd probably agree to be honest, which considering we've sold our best player isn't bad going. It's a shame about Roberts' injury, but I think in getting attacking options and defensive cover, we've improved.

I wonder if the delay in announcing Morrison is that we're trying to work something out with Sheff Utd for them to release him, enabling us to sign him rather than loan him, and therefore free up a loan spot in the matchday squad for AN Other. Unlikely, but possible.

My current job makes it very difficult for me to spend much time on here, plus to be honest I don't think I could add much the (understandable) general downbeat atmosphere of the fans that hasn't already been said. But I've just started a new project without very much to do just yet, which has tied in nicely with the transfer deadline, so I've been dipping my toe back in this week.

You might be right, but I think that's harsh. Braithwaite put in a transfer request after all, and talked about how he didn't really want to go back to Boro when he was away on loan. He was one of our more talented players, and in the right mindset he'd have been a starter every game. Without him we were a weaker team.
Gibson isn't rated all that highly by Dyche, clearly. Rightly or wrongly, it's obvious that he's not going to suddenly break into the first team there. As has been said by someone else, there's no chance Burnley aren't aware that he's been training/gaining fitness up here, and obviously aren't overly concerned by it. Without him, Burnley are no weaker. A move suits all parties if the numbers work.

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